BSkyB subscribers and profits up in third quarter

BSkyB's third quarter figures, released today, have revealed that the satellite broadcaster are still on target to reach their self-proclaimed goal of seven million subscribers by the end of 2003.
The company have reported a net increase of 150,000 subscribers, bringing their total to an impressive 6,712,000.
The churn figure, which measures the proportion of subscribers leaving the service, stood at 9.3% for the year, a new low.
The increases were reflected in a healthy balance sheet, which showed News Corp's profits up £52 million to £171 million
Tony Ball, BSkyB CEO, was buoyant at the news. He said: "We are reporting another strong set of results today.
"In what is normally a quiet period we have delivered healthy subscriber growth and an operating profit which has almost doubled year on year, thanks to strong revenue growth and sustained cost control. We remain on track to hit all of our targets."
(GB)